In the present invention, a vacuum pump that operates using compressed air that is supplied at a high speed and evacuates the space inside a suction pad. When the vacuum pump operates, a vacuum or a negative pressure is formed in the space inside the suction pad. A vacuum transport system holds an object using the negative pressure obtained in this fashion, and transports the object to an intended place.
In general, the vacuum pump includes a casing which has an inlet and an outlet and nozzles which are arrayed in series inside the casing. A space, for example, inside the suction pad extends through the casing and communicates with the inside of the nozzles. Therefore, when compressed air is supplied through the inlet and passes through and is ejected from the nozzles at a high speed, the inner space is evacuated, thereby creating the vacuum or negative pressure for transporting the object.
Once the object has been transported, the vacuum pad must be quickly separated from the object in order to repeatedly carry out subsequent work. However, since the separation is not quickly carried out, that is, it cannot be carried out simply by only stopping the supply of compressed air, a specific design and method capable of forcing the suction pad to be separated from the object are required.
According to related methods that are known, in addition to vacuum lines which are connected to the nozzles, release lines are separately designed such that each line can be supplied with compressed air and be electrically controlled. When the supply of compressed air to the vacuum lines is stopped, the release lines are opened to supply compressed air to the suction pad, so that the vacuum of the inner space of the suction pad is released or broken, thereby separating the suction pad from the object.
These methods are, in fact, available and being used, since they can quickly separate the suction pad from the object by supplying the compressed to the suction pad.
However, these methods have problems in that their electronic/mechanical designs and structures for realizing the methods are complicated, malfunctions are frequent, and maintenance is difficult. Due to these and other problems, these methods are considerably disadvantageous in terms of economic competitiveness, productivity, workability or the like. In addition, there are no solutions to the problem in that the object is damaged by strokes that are applied to the object as the vacuum is released.